SHOOTING AND FISHING IN THE BRITISH ZONE OF GERMANY.

ND (c1948) 1st edition. Small format paperback (123 x 200mm). Pp72,xl. Not illustrated.

A handbook published by the British Army of the Rhine to introduce would-be sportsmen-soldiers to field-sports in the British Zone of Germany. Figures are quoted for bags in the 1947-48 season, so presumably this book appeared in 1949. The contents cover coarse and game fishing as well as shooting game birds, wild boar and deer. There is also discussion of the contemporary situation in the British occupation zone. Vermin control was an especial problem: this was a responsibility of the German civilian authorities, who purposely allowed all species of vermin to increase as a lever against the occupation authorities. All civilian weapons had been confiscated in 1945, and the German authorities were trying to create a situation where sporting weapons would have to be reintroduced. As it turned out, civilians were not permitted weapons again until 1956. Chapters include: Game found in the British Zone, German attitude towards shooting, effect of the war on game and vermin, history of present organisation of game control; Small game shooting; Behaviour in the shooting field; Wild fowling; The wild boar; The red deer; The fallow deer; The roe deer; Odds and ends; Dogs; Fishing; Vermin. A rare and interesting publication.